School me on braid to leader

[Anthony Watson]

I’ve been hearing a bunch of guys swear by using braid to leader. Anyone care to share their opinion on pros and cons of this idea? When is it ideal to use and when is it not? What joining knot to tie between the two? What size braid do you typically use paired with what size leader? (I know this one is gonna be technique specific) Thanks!

[MN Fisher]

If casting into rocky areas with braid - use a leader...rocks are murder on braid - heavy FC here

If doing finesse (Ned, Drop-Shot) with braid - use a leader...most braid floats and will affect the action - light FC or Mono here

 

Knots to use to connect braid to leader - Albright, Alberto or FG

[gim]

I use a double uni knot.  Similar reasons posted above by @MN Fisher, but I will also add that another reason is because I fish some lakes that are very clear and highly pressured.  Whether or not the fish can "see" the line is up for debate, but its a variable I can control, so I'm going to control it.

[killobet]

I am all in to braid to leader. I use spinning setup for my bass fishing. The rock will cut braid easily  and reason I use long leader. If im using my 7ft spinning setup I use about 10 to 12 ft leader using Alberto knot. I normally use 8 to 10lb braid and 4 to 8lb floro.

[garroyo130]

I use braid to leader for dragging things across the bottom. I originally went 20lb braid to 8lb copoly but have since stepped up the leader to 12lb copoly with good results. FG knot tied in the comfort of my home with leader 2 rod lengths on spinning. The brighter the braid the better since slack line sensitivity on braid isnt the best. 

[TnRiver46]

Pros: sensitivity and nearly eliminates line twist

 

cons: if you fish snaggy areas, you spend too much time re rigging. It’s also more expensive than mono

 

i don’t bother anymore and just put 6 lb mono on all my spinning reels 

[Darth-Baiter]

i like it on my spinning.  i can reel the knot all the way into the reel with no real affects.

 

baitcasting, not so much.  braid, is braid all the way.  

[Jar11591]

I use 40lb braid to 20lb fluoro leader for Texas rigs and jigs in light to moderate cover, rocks, and wood because the clear waters I fish are filled with sharp rocks and toothy esox. The 20lb fluoro gives me great abrasion and bite off resistance. I’ve never had a pike or pickerel bite through heavy fluoro, but they saw through braid like a razor blade. 
 

For spinnerbaits I go 30lb or 40lb braid with a 20lb fluoro leader. The braid’s no-stretch qualities give me great hooksets on long casts, and it just performs great as a main line on casting gear. I use the fluoro leader because when using braid with spinnerbaits, especially on windy days, the line can wrap around the blades and shaft on the cast. The stiffness of the leader reduces this. 
 

For weedless frogs, and pitching plastics and jigs to heavy weed cover, I will use straight braid.  

[MickD]

If your lines/leaders/guides will cleanly clear a double uni knot, use it because it is the easiest, most reliable knot.  All the others have some little quirks that if they come into play will fail the knot.  Many swear by the Alberto, but for some reason, mine unravel even when tied according to the recipe, so I tightly set two overhand knots of the braid tag end over the main braid line.  Makes the knot fool proof.

 

If you are going to use braid to leader on surface lures use mono for the leader.  FC sinks fast enough to affect the action and working of some surface lures detrimentally.

 

I use braid/leader for two reasons.  I think it is less easily seen so most likely doesn't spook the fish (some use straight braid and swear by it-I agree that it's hard to think that 10 pound braid is visible enough to spook fish under most conditions), and when constantly retying, I'm cutting off leader and not braid, so don't have to replenish the braid as often as I would if I were constantly cutting off braid.

[Bankc]

I typically only use a leader if I have a reason to.  Otherwise it's straight braid.  Leaders are one of those things that really depend on personal preference.  You kind of have to form your own opinion.  Unless we're talking about things like Carolina rigs that require leaders or fishing in places with toothy fish that will bite through normal line.  Stuff like that is about the only time you HAVE to use a leader.  

Reasons can vary.  Sometimes I'll use a leader due to the stiffness of the line. Sometimes I'll use a leader to reduce visibility.  Sometimes I'll use a leader for abrasion resistance.  Sometimes I'll tie on a leader if I think I'm going to get hung up a bunch and have something like 50# braid on my reel, which can be a pain to break off.  So the leader gives me a weak point to break off on purpose and save line.  

 

Basically, experience will tell you when you need to use a leader.  Most of the time, it's not worth the hassle for me.  And experience will also tell you what knots to use.  Just experiment around and figure out where you stand on all of this.  There's no universal consensus here.  

[ike8120]

The majority of my setups are braid to leader, but will depend on the technique.

[Jig Man]

You asked for opinions.  Here’s mine.
 

I used it for quite a while with a love/hate relationship.  It turned to hate so I went to straight fluorocarbon line.  I haven’t missed it one bit.

[Captain Phil]

There was a time when I hated braid.  No more, as the newer braids are much improved. Casting distance, no stretch and sensitivity are worth the cost.  If I'm fishing in water where I think line visability is a problem, I use a fluorocarbon leader tied with a blood knot.  I don't feel the need for 40-50 pound braid in most bass fishing.  Twenty pound braid is plenty strong enough for bass in open water.  I flip heavy cover with 30 pound braid and no leader.  I used to use 25 pound Big Game mono for flipping.  My hookup up ratio has significantly improved with braid. 

[Big Hands]

On most of my spinning gear, I am currently in the braid to mono/fluoro camp. I use spinning gear a LOT, especially in the warmer months and I can potentially lose a fair bit of line in a days fishing. With braid, I lose very little of it even if I lose several setups, or change setups throughout the course of a day's fishing. 

 

I usually start out by tying on a new leader of 10' to 15' of mono/fluoro before the day begins. Throughout the day, I may need to put two or three leaders on, or maybe the original lasts the whole time. But, I know that if I was straight mono/fluoro, my mainline would be getting down there much quicker and need to be replaced multiple times in a season.

 

Also, as much as I use my spinning gear at at those times of the season, braid has little to no twist issues. Twist issues suck. They can be dealt with to some extent, but if I don't have to deal with them, I would prefer not to.

 

I like the sensitivity of braid, and 10 lb braid is less wind-affected than 6 lb or 8 lb mono/fluoro. And, I can use 5, 6, 7, or 8 lb leader and switch that out as I see necessary throughout the course of a day.

 

Braid is more easily compromised in rocky areas, but the leader mostly negates that. It also take a little extra time to attach a leader. I do occasionally get a wind knot from hell with braid and that can be a PITA to undo and is even worse if you can't undo it. I don't see me changing my mind on the braid-to-leader deal for most if not all of my finesse spinning fishing. TINSTAAFL, so you just have to pick your poison and live with it.

 

I currently employ the Alberto knot for all of my braid to leader connection knots. I have not yet become proficient enough with the FG knot to use it in the field, so I will continue to mess with it in the lab (garage) until I am ready to actually fish with it. I know it is a little slimmer and my save me some of those breakoffs that occur when the Alberto knot hangs on a guide. It doesn't happen on my spinning setups, so I am mostly concerned with using the FG for casting gear. For knots that are not for connecting braid to leader, I use either a Palomar or San Diego Jam.

 

As for casting gear, I am mostly using 40 lb to 65 lb braid with leaders ranging from 6 lb to as much as 20 lb mono/fluoro depending on what I am doing, so it's more of a mixed bag or results and I could see being OK with either braid or straight mono/fluoro. I often use heavier leader material, and this can start to be a problem with the connection knot occasionally getting hung up on the tip-top guide and then sending the whole setup off to Davey Jones' locker. That's enough to put the Good Humor man in a sour mood even the first time it happens in a day, and only gets worse. I do like the added sensitivity and less wind-resistance.

 

I have had issues with thinner braid digging in to itself on the spool. I am currently considering removing the braid on at least one of my BFS casting rigs and trying some mono. I also traded braid-to-leader setups for straight mono on a couple of my crankbait rigs. We will see how that goes.

 

There's little room to debate whether or not there is generally more complexity to using a braid to leader setup, and there are pros and cons. I would not say someone is wrong to use whatever they use, if it works for them.

[Susky River Rat]

I fish an extremely rocky river. I use 17lb fluorocarbon to 10lb braid. Why 17lb? Well that’s what I had laying around my garage and i caught fish on it so I haven’t changed. With all the rocks, ledges and shoals I tend to run a very long leader. Around two full arm lengths. Now as i retie and it gets shorter I do not like to run a leader shorter then 2ft give or take.

[Anthony Watson]

Thanks for the replies guys. I’m gonna rig it up on a few rods and give a try. I normally fish in murkier Oklahoma water. Our lakes are more brush and standing timber than anything. I normally throw a lot of braid already so it is won’t hurt me to try a few rigs with a leader. More concerned with the sensitivity of it that anything else. I guess I better get to learning some knots 

[ska4fun]

I can't fish without a nylon or fluoro leader. Without it, the braided line gets exposed to attrition with rocks, logs... Fishes with abrasive mouths, like snooks, simply obliterate braided lines. And they tend to get coiled in the treble hooks too. 

 

I tie them using modified Alberto knot. You pass the line two or three times inside the knot eyelet, instead of one, like in the classical knot. 

[BrianMDTX]

All my spinning rigs are braid-to-leader. It 100% eliminates coiled line and a spool of braid lasts a long time. If I get snagged, I break about 6’-7’ of leader and keep the braid. 
 

All my rigs have 20 lb. braid and 6 lb. mono leader tied on with a Lefty Kreh knot. 

[dodgeguy]

I don't get how the noise and feel of the leader knot doesn't drive you guys crazy.

[Tony Christian]

I've only been bass fishing for the past few years, but I went striper fishing for as long as I can remember. I've used braided lines for a very long time. Braid can work on spinning reels as well as conventional just as well, but with baitcasting try to respool your line every trip or two to stop it from digging in. Everyone knocks braid for having terrible abrasion resistance in the rocks, but it holds up better than other lines in trees and grass and wood cover. I used a swivel and an 8-12 inch leader for striper and had no problems. Don't use an Albright knot for wax coated lines, or it will slip right out. 4 carrier braid tears through weeds easier, eight carrier for castability and smoothness. I like Powerpro, Spiderwire, and Trilene braid. Sufix has not fared well in cover. Check your eyelets with a Q-tip for nicks or your braid will fray. I don't know much about flouro.

 

Does anyone know if 40 lb braid is the best line for all around use on my baitcaster?

[JackstrawIII]

I use braid to leader on ALL my spinning rods. The braid mainline negates the problem of line twist and the leader makes knots easier, breaking off easier, and makes the line sink at a useful rate (depending on what you use), all while making it less visible in the water. That's lots of reasons, at least in my mind. 

I use the FG knot and have never had it fail. Ever. 

Going to try braid to leader on a couple of baitcasters next year a bit and see if I like it.

[softwateronly]

9 hours ago, Tony Christian said:

I've only been bass fishing for the past few years, but I went striper fishing for as long as I can remember. I've used braided lines for a very long time. Braid can work on spinning reels as well as conventional just as well, but with baitcasting try to respool your line every trip or two to stop it from digging in. Everyone knocks braid for having terrible abrasion resistance in the rocks, but it holds up better than other lines in trees and grass and wood cover. I used a swivel and an 8-12 inch leader for striper and had no problems. Don't use an Albright knot for wax coated lines, or it will slip right out. 4 carrier braid tears through weeds easier, eight carrier for castability and smoothness. I like Powerpro, Spiderwire, and Trilene braid. Sufix has not fared well in cover. Check your eyelets with a Q-tip for nicks or your braid will fray. I don't know much about flouro.

 

Does anyone know if 40 lb braid is the best line for all around use on my baitcaster?

I recently went to 30 and 50lb from 40 and 65lb. I have mostly 100 size reels and think the dig in on 30lb 8 carrier is manageable and the distance/ipt is in my sweet spot. 40lb is still on a couple 150 sized reels and I have no need to change it. Long winded, but yes 40lb would be my one line if I didn’t split it up. 
 

scott

[Big Hands]

11 hours ago, dodgeguy said:

I don't get how the noise and feel of the leader knot doesn't drive you guys crazy.

I only notice the noise at all when I have a fish on, so it doesn't irritate me that much. The noise is worse on some rods (guides) than others. Most of the time I don't notice it, but I think I notice the noise the most on a Zodias spinning rod of mine.

 

I won't say the knot never catches because that would be a straight up lie. However, I don't recall losing a fish because of it. I have learned to ease up just enough for the knot to pass if I need to.

[Big Swimbait]

I am braid to leader on everything except frogs and flippin'/pitchin' heavy cover which are straight braid. Besides great hook sets and increased sensitivity, it is very economical only using 10-20 feet of fluro at a time. I use this very simple connection knot:

 

[BrianMDTX]

On 11/30/2022 at 10:08 AM, Big Swimbait said:

I am braid to leader on everything except frogs and flippin'/pitchin' heavy cover which are straight braid. Besides great hook sets and increased sensitivity, it is very economical only using 10-20 feet of fluro at a time. I use this very simple connection knot:

 

That’s the knot I referenced. It works great IMO. Easy peasy to tie as well.